Getty The National Christmas Tree
Ring in the holiday season by watching President Biden light the national Christmas tree during the 2021 National Tree Lighting, which airs Sunday, December 5 at 8:30 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT on CBS.
If you don’t have cable, here are several different ways you can watch a live stream of the 2021 National Christmas Tree Lighting online for free:
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Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime subscribers (Prime comes with a 30-day free trial) can watch a live stream of their local CBS station via the Prime Paramount+ channel (“Premium” plan). You can try both Amazon Prime and the Paramount+ Channel at no cost with a free trial right here:
Once you’re signed up for the Prime Paramount+ Channel, you can watch the 2021 National Christmas Tree Lighting live on the Amazon Video app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4 or 5, various smart TV’s, Xiaomi, Echo Show or Echo Spot, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch on your computer via the Amazon website.
FuboTV
You can watch a live stream of CBS (live in most markets) and 100-plus other live TV channels on FuboTV, which comes with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch the 2021 National Christmas Tree Lighting live on the FuboTV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the FuboTV website.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 250 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as a 72-hour look-back feature, which allows you to watch most shows on-demand within three days (and sometimes longer) of their conclusion, even if you don’t record them.
DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream (formerly AT&T TV) has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” CBS (live in most markets) is included in every one, but you can pick any package and any add-on you want with your free 14-day trial.
Note that the free trial isn’t advertised as such, but your “due today” amount will be $0 when signing up. If you watch on your computer, phone or tablet, you won’t be charged for 14 days. If you watch on a streaming device on your TV (Roku, Fire Stick, Apple TV, etc.), you will be charged for the first month, but you can get still get a full refund if you cancel before 14 days:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch the 2021 National Christmas Tree Lighting live on the DirecTV Stream app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the DirecTV Stream website.
If you can’t watch live, DirecTV Stream also comes with 20 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to unlimited hours).
Paramount+
This is ultimately the same as the Amazon Prime option above, only you’ll watch on Paramount’s digital platforms instead of Amazon’s. You can watch your local CBS channel live via Paramount+ (“Premium” plan), which comes with a free trial:
Once signed up for Paramount+, you can watch the 2021 National Christmas Tree Lighting live on the Paramount+ app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Samsung Smart TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch on your computer via the Paramount+ website.
National Christmas Tree Lighting 2021 Preview
Hosted by “NCIS: Los Angeles” star LL Cool J, the 2021 National Christmas Tree Lighting will air for the first time on CBS on Sunday, December 5.
The CBS press release teases:
This beloved American tradition, presented by the National Park Service (NPS) and National Park Foundation (NPF), will feature a star-studded lineup of musical performances by Billy Porter, Chris Stapleton, H.E.R., Juanes, Keb’ Mo’, Kristin Chenoweth, Maren Morris and Patti LaBelle singing holiday favorites. In addition to the official lighting of the National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse in President’s Park in Washington, D.C., the event will also feature performances by the U.S. Army Band Downrange and the Howard Gospel Choir. The National Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony will take place on Thursday, Dec. 2.
In an interview with “CBS Mornings,” the Rock ‘n Roll hall of famer talked about hosting the 99th annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, telling CBS that the reason he wanted to host was to help bring the country together this holiday season.
“It’s gonna be a lot of fun, lot of holiday classics, lot of good music, just a good warm time and I think right now, the country needs that,” said LL Cool J. “It’s been almost a year and a half or two of us being kind of stuck inside and people not really being able to feel close to one another and I think it’s nice to bring that joy to the country, that’s why I wanted to do it.”
He continued:
It’s a wonderful thing. I think that this is gonna be warm, I think it’s gonna bring a lot of people together around the country. I think the country, we need to feel unified. This is about the holidays, it’s about Christmas, it’s not about anything but that and I think that that’s important. I think America needs that right now, it’s good energy and it’ll lift the spirits of people who have really been going through rough times.
I’ve had Christmases where I didn’t get anything … I’ve come from that far to having in more recent times really fantastic Christmases, so I can relate to what people are going through out there. I think right now, what people need is words of encouragement. They need to know that the best is yet to come and they gotta keep believing in themselves. I think events like this are important for national unity. And it’s good for the country, just to lift the spirits of the whole country.
The 2021 National Tree Lighting airs Sunday, December 5 at 8:30 p.m. Eastern and 8 p.m. Pacific times on CBS.